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OCC warns of investigator vacancies and backlog risk in 2013 annual report
Summary
The Office of Citizen Complaints told the Police Commission its 2013 annual report shows lower complaint volumes but staff shortfalls tied to budget 'step adjustments' that left several investigator positions vacant; the OCC said case complexity and high-profile matters risk growing backlogs without staffing relief.
The Office of Citizen Complaints (OCC) presented its 2013 annual report to the San Francisco Police Commission on May 7, detailing caseloads, findings, staffing levels and technology projects and warning that investigator vacancies and complex, high-profile matters create a risk of backlog growth.
Director Hicks said the OCC received 727 complaints in 2013 (below a 21-year baseline of 950) and processed 2,144 allegations involving 535 officers. The office sustained 3% of allegations and reported that the most common sustained allegation type was neglect of duty (56% of allegations, with 35% sustained in that category). Hicks noted several cases of special concern, including incidents involving officers later indicted by a federal grand jury and multiple officer-involved-shooting (OIS) matters.
Hicks said budget mechanics common to city departments ' a "vacancy factor" and a "step adjustment" ' reduced OCC staffing capacity by roughly $270,000 and forced keeping positions vacant. At the time of the presentation OCC had 15 classified investigators working a full docket, two temporary investigators, and several vacancies. Director Hicks said the charter formula for staffing (1 investigator per 150 officers) does not reflect investigative best practices; OCC investigators had an average caseload of 21 cases in 2013 compared with a controller-recommended best practice of about 16 cases per investigator.
Hicks described operational improvements: an auto-prompt calendaring system to flag milestones and deadlines, continued mediation work (59 mediated cases in 2013), and a near-complete online complaint filing system expected for public release in June 2014. OCC staff said the online system had been staff-tested and required final host integration with the Department of Technology.
Commissioners pressed Hicks on staffing numbers and how many investigators are actually working full caseloads. Hicks said the OCC had 15 classified investigative positions allocated, with two temporary investigators and four vacancies at the time of the presentation. He warned that high-profile, complex cases and an uptick in community awareness could increase intake and lengthen closure times if additional resources are not secured.
Commissioners voiced support for the OCC staff and urged budget advocacy to restore investigator positions; Director Hicks said he would continue to request relief in the budget process and provide more detail in the OCC first-quarter 2014 report.
The OCC also highlighted outreach efforts, multilingual intake capabilities, and the results of its 2013 work in policy analysis, training and mediation.
Commissioners thanked the OCC staff for their work and asked for a more detailed staffing brief in the next quarterly packet.
The commission then took routine scheduling actions and moved into closed session on later agenda items.
